Why We're Concerned About High Blood Pressure

Each time you go to visit a doctor, it’s a good bet that a medical assistant starts by recording your blood pressure. If you’ve ever wondered why this reading is so important, consider this: High blood pressure affects nearly half of American adults, and it's one of the biggest contributors to heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States.

Now that we’ve got your attention, Dr. Satjit Bhusri and the team here at Upper East Side Cardiology want to step back a little to explain why we’re so concerned about hypertension, which is another word for high blood pressure. 

Blood pressure by the numbers

As the name suggests, your blood pressure reading measures just that — the pressure your blood makes on the walls of your arteries. When we take a blood pressure reading, we measure two things:

1. Your systolic pressure, which is the pressure during a heartbeat
2. Your diastolic pressure, which is the pressure between heartbeats

The resulting measurement is your systolic reading over your diastolic reading, such as 100 mmHg over 60 mmHg, or 100/60.

A reading of <120 over <80 or lower is considered normal blood pressure, and we start to get into worrisome territory as the numbers rise:

• 120-129 over less than 80 is elevated
• 130-139 over 80-89 is hypertension stage 1
• 140 or higher over 90 or higher is stage 2 hypertension

Now that we’ve explained the numbers, let’s get into what they mean for your health.

The effects of high blood pressure on your blood vessels

Over time, higher-than-normal pressure on the walls of your arteries can result in several issues. First, the pressure damages the lining of your arteries, which can lead to the formation of plaques that block your arteries. And this blockage renders your arteries more stiff and prevents blood from flowing as it should through your body.

Second, high blood pressure can weaken the walls of your arteries, which can leave you more vulnerable to an aneurysm, which is a bulge in the blood vessel. If an aneurysm bursts, it can lead to internal bleeding.

Third, high blood pressure means your heart is working harder, which can leave you at greater risk for heart disease.

Complications of high blood pressure

Above, we outlined the direct effects of high blood pressure on the health of your veins and heart, but now let's look at the complications associated with hypertension, including:

• Strokes — plaques in your arteries can break off and lead to a stroke
• Heart attack — your arteries become too blocked
• Heart failure — your heart thickens and stiffens over time
• Kidney disease — damaged arteries around your kidneys prevent them from filtering your blood properly
• Vision loss — high blood pressure can damage the small vessels in your eyes
• Sexual dysfunction — not enough blood flow to your penis

This list isn’t complete, but it gives you an idea of the serious, and often life-threatening, conditions that are associated with high blood pressure.

The good news when it comes to hypertension

We want to leave you with some good news: There are ways to manage or lower your blood pressure. From medications to lifestyle changes, we can help you improve the course of your health by keeping your blood pressure within a healthy range.

For a personalized hypertension plan, we invite you to contact our New York City office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan by clicking here, or you can call us at (212) 752-3464 to schedule an appointment.